WEBVTT - Find a better word

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to find a better word. When you choose

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<v Speaker 1>the right word, that word can do more heavy lifting

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<v Speaker 1>than if you go with the first word you think of.

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<v Speaker 1>This week, I am sharing some of my favorite writing tips.

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<v Speaker 1>Even if you don't write for a living, you might

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<v Speaker 1>write reports or emails or articles for industry publications. Certain

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<v Speaker 1>strategies can help make your writing more compelling and clear.

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<v Speaker 1>Writing first drafts is hard. We just need to get

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<v Speaker 1>the ideas down. But once you have done that, you

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<v Speaker 1>can go through and make the writing better. Earlier this week,

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<v Speaker 1>we talked about cutting words. If you aim to cut

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<v Speaker 1>ten to fifteen percent off your word count, you will

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<v Speaker 1>need to weigh each word and sentence. Doing so will

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<v Speaker 1>help you think through the best way to say what

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<v Speaker 1>you need to say. Part of that is choosing words

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<v Speaker 1>that do a lot of work. Rather than having someone

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<v Speaker 1>run very quickly, you have them sprint or dash or race.

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<v Speaker 1>These words are all a little different, but one is

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<v Speaker 1>likely closer to the right word. Even if you don't

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<v Speaker 1>save on your word count, you might get closer to

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<v Speaker 1>what you're trying to say. It is different to sob

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<v Speaker 1>than to cry, or to whimper, or to wail. It

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<v Speaker 1>is different to linger versus lolligag. Of course, it is

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<v Speaker 1>not always easy to come up with the right word

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<v Speaker 1>off the top of your head. So if you find

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<v Speaker 1>yourself stabbing around trying to come up with the right one,

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<v Speaker 1>do this, look the word you did use up in

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<v Speaker 1>the dictionary. No, not the thesaurus. A thesaurus lists lots

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<v Speaker 1>of words with similar meanings, but does not always make

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<v Speaker 1>clear which words have different connotations or mean slightly different things.

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<v Speaker 1>I took a writing class in college where the professor

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<v Speaker 1>John McPhee mentioned that he preferred to use the dictionary

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<v Speaker 1>to find better words. That's because the dictionary is trying

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<v Speaker 1>to help you find the precise meaning of something, so

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<v Speaker 1>the various words suggested or mentioned are more likely to

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<v Speaker 1>be close to the meaning you desire. It doesn't take

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<v Speaker 1>long to do this, and you don't have to do

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<v Speaker 1>it for every word. But whenever you see a word

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<v Speaker 1>in your writing that feels tired or imprecise or cliched,

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<v Speaker 1>find a better one. See if you can find one

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<v Speaker 1>with a more exact meaning and the right connotation. If

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<v Speaker 1>you can't think of one, look the word up in

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<v Speaker 1>a dictionary and see what else gets suggested. Maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>will find a better word there, or maybe not. One

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<v Speaker 1>reason people sometimes resort to foreign language phrases is that

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<v Speaker 1>English doesn't have an exact right word for everything. But

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<v Speaker 1>if you are listening to this in English, well just

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<v Speaker 1>know that English is a vast, varied and colorful language.

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<v Speaker 1>A better word just might be out there. By taking

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<v Speaker 1>the time to find it, you can make your writing

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<v Speaker 1>more clear and more fun for the reader too. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four then Breakfast Pod. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>That before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app. Apple podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.